The Spanish Alphabet - With Audio!

A, b, c, d, e, f…go for it! Are you ready to master the Spanish alphabet? Then you’ve come to the right place.

It’s true, the best way to begin on the journey to learning Spanish is by going over the alphabet, just as kindergarteners do when they are learning to spell.

So does that mean we’re going back to kindergarten for this class?

Well, I’m not sure where we could squeeze in the finger painting and the afternoon naps but, what you do after reading this guide is up to you!

In some languages, you are forced to learn all kinds of phonetic adjustments to master the alphabet. But Spanish is loads easier.

Unlike English, the spelling of Spanish words closely matches their pronunciation. You will see when we start to go through the Spanish alphabet, that most of the letters only have one sound, or pronunciation. This makes learning it really simple for beginners.

Now, does that sound like good news or what?

With a little practice, you will soon be able to pronounce all the letter combinations in Spanish!

In this article we will cover:

How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?
What are Spanish vowels and how are they pronounced?
What are Spanish consonants and how are they pronounced?
What are digraphs and how are they pronounced?
Practice time
Final words
Answers

How many letters are in the Spanish alphabet?

In this guide, we are going to make the Spanish alphabet, our new best friend.

So, why don’t we get to know our pal “el abecedario” a little better?
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters. These are made up of 22 consonants and 5 vowels. It also has 5 orthographic signs made up of 2 letters, called digraphs. Digraphs (sounds made up of two letters) are made up of the following letter combinations:

What are Spanish vowels and how are they pronounced?

Before we start on our leisurely road trip down the Spanish alphabet, there are a three things we should remember:

In theory, each of the letters in the alphabet should represent a single sound. But, in practice, there are many significant variations of the pronunciation of some of these letters when read on their own or in groups. The sounds change when the following change:
- The dialect
- The country
- The geographic region
- The social class or socio-cultural conditions of the speaker
Most of the letters only represent one sound, but this can vary according to the place the letters occupy within a word, as well as the letters that accompany it.
Each of the Spanish vowels has an extremely stable sound, almost invariable, and it could be said that it only varies in natural and everyday speech, due to the social factors that we already mentioned before. However, sometimes the letter U is completely silent when it comes after the Q or the G. But don’t worry about that for the moment as we will explain it in more detail later when we go over the digraphs.

So start your engines and let’s begin our journey down the alphabet stopping for a coffee break at the first letter.

A – a

To pronounce this vowel, you need to open your mouth wide. It has a sound similar to the vowel we use in the English word “clock”.

Example:

Casa
House

E – e

Now here is one of the trickier ones for us English speakers to master. The letter E is a bit of a challenge because in English it is pronounced the same as the letter I in Spanish.

Yep, you’re right, it takes a while for you to wrap your head around that one.

To pronounce this letter, you will need to half-open your mouth as if you were smiling. (There’s nothing miserable about learning Spanish!)

The pronunciation of the letter E in Spanish is similar to the pronunciation of the English word “air”.

Example:

Pez
Fish

I – i

This next vowel should be pronounced with a smile, too. But it should also be combined with a more nasal sound. It is pronounced similarly to the English word “me“, but it should never be confused with the vowel E.

Example:

Mi
My

O – o

To pronounce this vowel you should keep your mouth half-closed but rounded. But, we should err on the side of caution with this letter as in English, the letter O is pronounced OU, but that’s not the case in Spanish. So if you really want to sound like a native speaker, you must remember to keep your lips still when saying it.

Doing your best Santa’s ho ho ho laugh impression will help you create the perfect O sound in Spanish. You see, it’s nothing but smiling and laughing when you learn Spanish.

This vowel sounds similar to the vowel used in the English word “tall”.

Example:

Oso
Bear

U – u

As with the letter O, English speakers often pronounce the letter U as UI, but we cannot do this with Spanish.

To pronounce the letter U, you should leave your mouth half-closed, but not as rounded as you did with the O. You should then bring your jaw and lips forward as if you were going to give someone a little kiss.

This vowel should be pronounced similarly to the vowels in the English word “cool”.

Example:

Uva
Grape

As with all things, practice makes perfect. The more you repeat the vowels, the more natural the pronunciation will feel.

When you’re just starting out, you may feel like you have to practically dislocate your jaw to be able to pronounce some of these vowels. But, your muscles will soon get used to the challenge!
Speaking of challenges, I’ve got one here for you. The word “murciélago” (bat in Spanish) contains all of the Spanish vowels. Why not have a go at pronouncing it so that you can practice all of the vowels at once?

What are Spanish consonants and how are they pronounced?

Ok, so we’ve taken a whistle-stop tour through the Spanish vowels. But it is now time for us to begin a slightly longer journey through the consonants of the Spanish alphabet.

We’ll start at the beginning of the alphabet and give you some words that you can practice pronouncing.

Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Letter	Name
B – b	Be

In some Spanish words, it could be easy to confuse the letter B with the letter V. So, to differentiate the Spanish B from the V, (called “uve”), some people colloquially give it the following names:

“Be grande” (big B)
“Be alta” (tall B)
“Be de burro” (B for donkey)

Asides from its nicknames, the letter B’s official name in Spanish is simply: be.

To pronounce the letter B, think of the English word “ball”. The sound that your lips make when they touch when you pronounce the word “ball” combined with the sounds of a babbling baby will land you at the Spanish B.

(You’re in for a heck of a ride, as this is just the first of many funny noises you’ll be making while reading this guide.)

Let’s try to pronounce it with each of the Spanish vowels:

Ba – Be – Bi – Bo – Bu

Here are some examples of the letter B in words:

Bebé
Baby
Boca
Mouth
Lobo
Wolf

Letter	Name
C – c	Se (Ce)

Reading the letter C in Spanish is a little tricky because its pronunciation changes depending on the letter that follows it.

If the letter C is followed by one of these vowels: A, O, or U it should be pronounced like the letter K in English.

Example:

Coco
Coconut

But when it is followed by the vowels I and E it is pronounced like the letter S.

Example:

Circo
Circus

There are also words in Spanish that contain a double C usually before the vowels I and E. In these cases, the pronunciation of the Cs is similar to that of an X in English: the first C will have a strong K sound and the next C will sound like an S (ks).

Examples:

Acción
Action
Accidente
Accident

Ca – Ce – Ci – Co – Cu

Examples:

Café
Coffee
Cena
Dinner
Cine
Cinema
Lección
Lesson

Letter	Name
D – d	De

The pronunciation of the letter D in Spanish is similar to that of the English word “dog”. But to make sure that your pronunciation sounds native, your tongue should make contact with the back of your upper teeth.

When the letter D is at the end of a word, its sound is a little stronger and closer to the sound of a T.

Da – De – Di – Do – Du

Examples:

Dedo
Finger
¿Dónde?
Where?
Aldea
Village
Edad
Age

Letter	Name
F – f	Efe

This is one of the easiest letters in the Spanish alphabet.

(Finally a straightforward one!)

There is only one way of pronouncing it and it is equivalent to the pronunciation of the letter F in the English word “fun”.

Fa – Fe – Fi – Fo – Fu

Examples:

Foto
Picture
Afuera
Outside

Letter	Name
G – g	Ge (he)

Like the letter C, the letter G is a bit more complicated. This letter has three main different types of pronunciations:

When the letter G is placed before the vowels A, O, and U it should be pronounced like the English word “gas”. To do this, you will need to contract your throat momentarily to cut off the flow of air.

When the letter G is placed before the vowels I and E, we can think of its pronunciation as similar to the English word “hit”. To do this, you will need to allow the air to flow to your throat without restriction.

The third way of pronouncing the letter G has to do with the combination of the letters GUI and GUE. But we will go into this in more detail later when we talk about digraphs.

Ga – Ge – Gi – Go – Gu

Examples:

Gato
Cat
Lago
Lake
Agua
Water
Lógico
Logical

Letter	Name
H – h	Ache

Fortunately, the letter H is a lot simpler than the letter G. It appears in many words, but it is always silent; regardless of its position. It only becomes sonorous when it is preceded by the letter C, but we will take a look at that later when we talk about digraphs.

Ha – He – Hi – Ho – Hu

Examples:

Hola
Hi
Hospital
Hospital
Búho
Owl

Letter	Name
J – j	Jota (hota)

When placed before any Spanish vowel, the letter J is pronounced similarly to the English letter H in the word “hat”. Allow the air to flow through your mouth as if you were laughing: “hahaha” (jajaja).

Who said that learning a language couldn’t give you a good giggle?

When the letter J appears at the end of a word, its sound is accentuated as if you were sighing.

Ja – Je – Ji – Jo – Ju

Examples:

Jirafa
Giraffe
Jugo
Juice
Ajo
Garlic
Reloj
Watch

Letter	Name
K – k	Ka (ca)

The letter K is not frequently used in Spanish. Most of the words that contain the letter K have been taken from English or other foreign languages.

But this is good news, as it means that when you see the letter K you can pronounce it in the same way that we pronounce the letter K in English words like “king”.

Ka – Ke – Ki – Ko – Ku

Examples:

Kilogramo
Kilogram
Kilómetro
Kilometer

Letter	Name
L – l	Ele

We should pronounce the letter L in Spanish the same way we pronounce it in English words like “lost”. You should place the tip of your tongue against the back of your front teeth, and allow the air to escape laterally.

In Spanish, you will also find words with double L (LL), but we will take a look at those later when we talk about digraphs.

La – Le – Li – Lo – Lu

Examples:

Luz
Light
Loco
Insane, crazy
Mal
Evil
Calor
Heat

Letter	Name
M – m	Eme

The pronunciation of the letter M in Spanish is similar to the way we pronounce the English word “mom“. This is a sound that occurs when the lips are closed together.

Ma – Me – Mi – Mo – Mu

Examples:

Mundo
World
Mamá
Mom
Bombero
Fireman
Campana
Bell

Letter	Name
N – n	Ene

The pronunciation of the letter N in Spanish is similar to the way we pronounce the English word “now”. It is a nasal sound that is produced by the contact between the front portion of the tongue and the ridge behind the front teeth.

Na – Ne – Ni – No – Nu

Examples:

Pan
Bread
Nunca
Never
Cantar
Sing
Común
Common

Letter	Name
Ñ – ñ	Eñe

This next letter is perhaps the most characteristic or representative of the Spanish alphabet. Its pronunciation is quite nasal and can be compared to the combined pronunciation of the letters N and Y in the English word “canyon” or the pronunciation of the letters N and I in the English word “onion”.

But this is a completely new sound for us English speakers so that means we’ve got some hardcore practicing to do with this one. Repetition is the mother of all learning! You might get a couple of funny looks, but you should embrace the attention!

This letter is mostly found within a word, seldom as an initial letter and never as a final one.

Ña – Ñe – Ñi – Ño – Ñu

Examples:

Año
Year
Niño
Kid
Mañana
Tomorrow, morning

Letter	Name
P – p	Pe

The pronunciation of the letter P in Spanish is very similar to that of the English word “public”.

Pa – Pe – Pi – Po – Pu

Examples:

Pelo
Hair
Papá
Dad
Piña
Pineapple

Letter	Name
Q – q	Ku (cu)

In Spanish the letter Q is always followed by the vowel U and then by the letter E or I, depending on the word. It is never used with other vowels, and the U is completely silent.

The pronunciation of the letter Q is equivalent to the sound of the letter K in the English word “king”.

Que – Qui

Example:

¿Qué?
What
Queso
Cheese
¿Quién?
Who?

Letter	Name
R – r	Ere

Ok, this is where it gets a little tricky, so stick with me.

The letter R in the Spanish alphabet never sounds like the R used in the English language, because when you pronounce English words like “run” or “car” your tongue has minimal contact with your palate.

When a single letter R appears internally or at the end of a Spanish word, it should be pronounced similarly to the English words “better” or “letter“, where the tip of the tongue strikes the ridge behind the upper front teeth with a single flap.

When the letter R is the first letter of the word, its accent is stronger. In these cases, it should be pronounced as a trill or multiple flapping of the tongue against the roof of the mouth or the ridge behind the upper teeth.

(Practice the noise of a motorbike revving with your tongue and you won’t be far off.)

The double R (rr) has an even stronger sound. (It’s like 10 motorbikes revving). But we’ll discuss that a little later when we take a look at the use of digraphs.

Ra – Re – Ri – Ro – Ru

Examples:

Río
River
Pero
But
Comer
To eat

Letter	Name
S – s	Ese

In most Spanish dialects the letter S sounds like the S in the English word “son”, regardless of its position within the word.

Sa – Se – Si – So – Su

Examples:

Sí
Yes
Osos
Bears

Letter	Name
T – t	Te

The pronunciation of the letter T in Spanish is similar to the pronunciation of the T in English. For example in the name “Tom”. But it has been said that in Spanish its pronunciation is a little more subtle or less accentuated.

Ta – Te -Ti – To – Tu

Examples:

Tú
You
Foto
Picture
Tío
Uncle

Letter	Name
V – v	Uve (ube)

In theory, the letter V is very similar to the letter B, but it also sounds similar to the letter F. To pronounce it you should lightly place your upper teeth on your lower lip and make your mouth vibrate.

In practice, however, most people, especially in Latin America, pronounce the letter V in the same way as they pronounce the letter B. In some places, to differentiate the letter V from the B, they give it the following names:

“V de vaca” (V for cow)
“V pequeña” (small V)
“V corta” (short V)

Va – Ve – Vi – Vo – Vu

Examples:

Vaca
Cow
Vecino
Neighbor
Avión
Airplane

Letter	Name
W – w	Doble ve (doble be) / Uve doble

Just like the letter K, the letter W is extremely rare in Spanish, and it was also imported from foreign languages. Its pronunciation may vary from region to region, but it is usually pronounced the same as the letter W in the English word “watch.”

In some places, they call this letter “doble U“

Wa – We – Wi – Wo – Wu

Examples:

William
Kiwi

Letter	Name
X – x	Ekis (equis)

The letter X should be pronounced similarly to the X in the English words “taxi” or “exit”. The letter sounds like a K and an S when they are read together (ks).

Xa – Xe – Xi – Xo – Xu

Examples:

Examen
Exam
Texto
Text

Letter	Name
Y – y	Ye (lle)

Also known as the Greek letter I, the letter Y should be pronounced like the English letter J.

However, when it is at the end of the word or completely alone it is pronounced as the vowel I. When on its own, it works as a conjunction, that is, it becomes an autonomous word.

Ya – Ye – Yi – Yo – Yu

Examples:

Yo
I
Ayer
Yesterday
Paraguay
Sal y pimienta
Salt and pepper

Letter	Name
Z – z	Zeta (ceta – seta)

In theory, the pronunciation of the Spanish letter Z is different from that of the letter S, making the tongue vibrate as it does when you read the English letters T and H together. However, in practice and especially in Latin America, the pronunciation of the Z is the same as the pronunciation of the letter S, regardless of its location within the word.

Za – Ze – Zi – Zo – Zu

Examples:

Zapato
Shoe
Lápiz
Pencil
Corazón
Heart

What are digraphs and how are they pronounced?

Alright! Now that we reviewed the sounds of the Spanish vowels, and gone on a scenic tour through the Spanish alphabet, it’s time for us to take a quick gas stop at the digraphs.

As we mentioned before, at present the digraphs are not part of the Spanish alphabet, but they are one of the things that make Spanish spelling a little more tricky.

Some of the digraphs we will see were once part of the Spanish alphabet. At present though, digraphs are simply interpreted as signs made up of the combination of two letters that represent a single sound.

In Spanish, there are 5 of them. Let’s check out the first:

Digraph	Name
CH – ch	Che

The CH is pronounced by leaning the tongue against the palate, closing the air passage for a moment, and then releasing it. It is similar to the pronunciation within the English words “chocolate” or “teacher”

Cha – Che – Chi – Cho – Chu

Examples:

Charco
Puddle
Chisme
Gossip
Ancho
Width

Digraph	Name
LL – ll	Elle (eye)

Also known as “doble L”, this digraph is quite common in the Spanish language. For most Spanish speakers it has the same sound as the English letter Y, when the Y is accompanied by any vowel.

Lla – Lle – Lli – Llo – Llu

Examples:

Lluvia
Rain
Calle
Street

Digraph	Name
RR- rr	Erre o doble ere

Also known as “doble R”, this digraph has the same sound as the letter R when it is at the beginning of a word.

It has a strong accent, and it is pronounced as a trill or multiple flapping of the tongue against the roof of the mouth or the ridge behind the upper teeth. (Or simply put, the sound of a motorbike revving made with your tongue.)

This is a sound that us English speakers have to practice and practice and practice to master.

This digraph only appears in the middle of words between vowels.

Examples:

Perro
Dog
Carro
Car

Digraph	Name
QU – qu	Ku (cu) and U

We already studied this next digraph when we talked about the letter Q. We explained that it is always accompanied by the letter U and that it can only be used with the vowel E or with the vowel I.

Its pronunciation is equivalent to the sound of the letter K in English, that is: Ke (que) and Ki (qui)

Que – Qui

Examples:

Queja
Complaint
Química
Chemistry

Digraph	Name
GU – gu	Ge (je) y U

This digraph uses the same letter combinations as the previous one, that is, you will only find it next to the vowel E or the vowel I. If it is followed by another vowel, for example, in the word “glove” (guante) it is simply no longer a digraph.

Remember that before the vowels I and E, we can think of the pronunciation of the letter G similar to that of the English word “hit”.

But, when there is a U between the letters G and E, or between the G and the I, the U is muted and you pronounce the letters from your throat. The pronunciation is similar to that of the words “gay” or “guitar”.

Gue – Gui

Examples:

Guitarra
Guitar
Guerra
War

Finally, although it is scarcely used, you can find words that contain a combination of this digraph. In these cases, we add two dots above the U (ü), to break the digraph and indicate that the U is not silent in this word. Those two dots are known as “diéresis”

Güe – Güi

Examples:

Lingüística
Linguistics
Vergüenza
Shame

Practice time

You deserve a pat on the back as it’s hard to practice pronunciation without first hearing what a word or a letter in the Spanish alphabet sounds like in certain contexts; or without being able to listen and check if you are saying it properly or not. That’s why I invite you to contact us so that one of our teachers can give you one-on-one guidance and you can confidently practice everything you have learned.

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.

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But, that doesn’t mean that the hard work stops here! Listed below are some exercises for you to complete in the meantime:

Exercise 1: Spell the following names, naming each letter in Spanish:

Adolfo
Joaquín
Kateryn
Laura
David

Exercise 2: Work out these words and then say them:

a – eme – o – ere
e – ele – e – efe – a – ene – te – e
e – ese – te- u – de – i – a – ene – te – e
a – eme – be – u – ele – a- ene – ce – i – a
erre – e – ese – pe – u – e – ese – te – a
ce – ache – o – ce – o – ele – a – te – e
zeta – a – ene – a – ache – o – ere – i – a
ce – o – doble ere – e – o

Exercise 3: Pronounce the following Spanish words:

Gorila
Gorilla
Rayo
Lightning
Fantasma
Ghost
Puerta
Door
Pierna
Leg
Baño
Bathroom
Bomba
Bomb
Barba
Beard
Guion
Hyphen, dash
Falso
Fake
Chimenea
Fireplace
Toro
Bull
Pañuelo
Handkerchief
Dolor
Pain
Radio
Radio

Final words

Awesome job!

You have started your journey down the road to learning Spanish. Now is the time for you to continue expanding your knowledge and start opening up not only to a new language but also to a new culture.

There may seem to be a lot of information in this guide. But the connection between the Spanish alphabet and the sounds it represents, as well as the low variability of the sounds of Spanish vowels, will help you to start sounding like a native speaker from the get-go.

You now have a strong foundation to continue building on, and if you keep practicing, you’ll become a pro in no time!

Check out our series of Complete Spanish Grammar articles – everything you’ll ever need to know about Spanish grammar.